Merry Christmas

Hi All! Merry Christmas!! I am updating my blog from my new MacBook Air! George bought me a new Apple laptop for Christmas and I LOVE IT!! It is so thin....less than an inch.

I had to jump on real quick and post some pictures b/c I am learning how to update my iPhoto!

Here it is (my new computer!)

The kids got professional pictures taken for my parents. We had one printed on canvas for them to display.

A few days ago before I started wrapping

I was very particular about my wrapping :)

I decided to do scented jars for our neighbors instead of baked goods. They were filled with dry fruit (Apples, Oranges, Cranberries) and cinnamon sticks. 

You just dump the fruit and cinnamon into a boiling pot of water and it makes your house smell amazing!! (Thanks for the idea, Chrissy!)

 I had to test one out :)

We are enjoying the day with family. The Harts are in town (arrived yesterday)...big group this year!!!

Christmas Cheer!

I am definitely feeling the Christmas spirit! We didn't have many Christmas decorations, but we have acquired some over the past few weeks. 

As for our tree, George and I went round and round on whether we would get a real or artificial Christmas tree. My family has always had an artificial and his family has always had a real one. I was nervous about the needles and mess of a real one. Also, when I was little, pine trees would bother my skin (still does, just a bit). Anyway, I went to Costco last Monday after work and they had a few real ones left....I just went for it and  picked one up! And....I LOVE IT! It smells so good and looks so full and beautiful!

Love my nativity scene! 

Thank you to my Grandma Clark for giving us a bunch of ornaments! 

Some family friends, The Froehle's, gave us this Christmas countdown as a house warming gift.

I am SUPER excited because I will be off all of next week. I can't think of a time when I've taken an entire week off of work, but didn't actually travel anywhere. My Aunt Lesley and cousins, Sarah and Ian, will be coming out to AZ on Christmas Eve for 6 days. It will be so much fun to have them here!

I still need to pick up a few small gifts, wrap, and do some baking, but now that school is done for the semester, I have a lot more time on my hands...plus, I really enjoy the prepping and "hustle and bustle" of Christmas. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas....and remember, Jesus in the reason for the season :) 

Beaver Creek Pictures

We are back from Colorado and as promised, I have some pictures to share. We had an awesome time full of skiing, relaxing, and family time. So without further ado, here are some pictures:

The hotel had their very own dog named Bachelor (named after the Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch)

Caleb liked Bachelor, but Paisley was unsure. I think she liked him, but from a distance only! Notice that she was barking at the dog :)

 

Paisley and Caleb were forced to pose for quite a few pictures. At one point, Paisley and I took a walk downstairs to the big Christmas tree and I was able to get her to smile for the camera. 

What a cheesy little smile!

Caleb and Paisley really enjoyed playing together. They are almost exactly the same height and they have the same hair color so everyone thought they were twins. I absolutely LOVE the picture on the right (taken by Katie). The two of them also enjoyed walks up and down the hall (with Uncle George on the left).

 You can tell Paisley is an Arizona girl....she wasn't too sure of all the winter gear

Of course, we had to take our pictures in front of the fire place! Here is the whole family.

Hannah didn't mind striking a pose either!

The Warren/Moore/Lucas group - talk about great company!

There weren't many runs open, but everyone made the most out of it. Shout out to George....he is becoming such a great skier. I better watch out, before I know it he will be better than me. 

On Saturday morning we were all chilling out in the living room. Brian grabbed a sheet to build a fort for Paisley and Caleb. One thing led to another and we were doing a "parachute" for them. Caleb was in heaven. Paisley was skeptical :)

Thank you to my Mom and Dad for taking us on another awesome Beaver Creek trip. It is a highlight of the year!!!

Colorado Time

Hi All! This will be a very short post because I am about to leave for class. I took today off to work on some homework and get ready for our trip to Colorado tomorrow. Our flight leaves at 6:30am so we will have to leave for the airport before 5am. YIKES!

We are all really, REALLY looking forward to this trip. I know I blogged about it last year, but the hotel we stay at (Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch) is ridiculous. And when I say ridiculous, I mean ridiculously awesome and beautiful! The entire gang (minus Jeremiah b/c he has finals) will be going. Gabe, Katie, and Caleb will also be joining us this year again. "Grotto"....here we come!!!!!!

I swear I was getting on here to do something else besides brag about our trip!

We celebrated Hannah's 18th birthday on Monday night. How is it that Hannah is 18 years old?! Hannah is an amazing young lady worth celebrating any day of the year - she is beautiful (inside and out), poised, a talented musician, a competitive athlete, the list goes on and on. I am proud to have her as my little sister.

She got some pretty neat gifts, including a Bosu Ball (Google it to see a picture). It is basically a half ball that people use for exercising. You should have seen Paisley though....I thought she was going to try to take it home with her. She was bouncing and bouncing and bouncing some more on it!

One more thing before I go...my Grandma Clark is back in town for the winter! We are glad to have her back. She has already made us a pot of soup and her famous caesar salad. No laundry perks for me this year though :)

Pictures from Colorado will be on the blog next week!! BYE :)